Anyway, never having been a shrinking violet I will!
What I can see are two sides to this argument.
One side is arguing for the linear system ensuring that characters arrive at a significant level by the end of the putative campaign. Meaning that the characters go through various stages of the world and fight a variety of different foes (from weaklings to thanes to heroes).
The other side says that we enjoy gaming at a particular level. How can I, as a Narrator, ensure that my campaign remains within the levels of that campaign without overtly constraining the game and the players.
What have been discussed are game system tools. I proposed one which made the transition between Masteries more significant, others have suggested general price increases.
What I want to suggest this time is similar to my first one but more story related. If we are to take Masteries as significant punctuation marks within the world then they should be marked in some way. If this is to represent the stories (such as Arkat) then there is some stepwise improvement.
What about making all masteries subject to some quest or test.
Obviously the first mastery test might not seem all that difficult
(gather feathers of the Thunder Bird nesting at the top of yonder
rise) but a W2 test might be difficult, requiring some kind of
Heroquest and it should just get harder as time goes on.
This doesn't prevent players from spending where they want to, just
gives them in game barriers to overcome as well as system barriers
(ie: do I have enough hero points).
It should also add to the game story and give punctuation points on the character narrative where he gained masteries and how.
Stephen
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